Avatars appear solid colors why?

[BarbaraAnnKy5]

I updated to Windows 10 recently.  Afterwards, about 70% of avatars appear as a solid color - I see the outline of the avatars - such as solid blue, green, brown, red, etc. when using SL viewer.  The other avatars look fine.  Folks tell me my avatar appears fine to them.  Anyone know why this is and  how I can fix it?  As an aside, Firestorm viewer stopped working entirely after Windows 10 update.  When I try and launch Firestore i get an error message that says something about video drivers.

Thanks!

[CassieMaia]

If you are getting a message about needing to update your video drivers when trying to use Firestorm after updating to Windows 10, you should go to your video card manufacturer's site and download the latest drivers for your card.  That might perhaps also fix the issue you are seeing with the solid colors using the SL viewer. 

[Rolig Loon]

You'll be interested in reading all of the article at https://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Avatar-Rendering-Complexity/ta-p/2967838 , but I'll copy out the relevant part here for you:

Why are some avatars solid colors?

Avatars can be rendered as solid-colored silhouettes (a special form of impostor) if they exceed the avatar complexity threshold set by the Maximum complexity slider in the Advanced Graphics Preferences window.  This greatly reduces that amount of work your computer must perform in order to draw complex avatars, resulting in improved performance.  

The default value of Maximum complexity is determined by your computer's specifications, but can be adjusted manually in the Advanced Graphics Preferences window:

1. Open the Preferences window by choosing Me > Preferences from the top menu bar.
2. Click the Graphics tab of the preferences window.
3. Click the Advanced Settings button to open the Advanced Graphics Preferences window.
4. In the Avatar section of the Advanced Graphics Preferences window, adjust the Maximum complexity slider to your preferred threshold.  You may move the slider all the way to the right to make the threshold unlimited.

There are other uncommon factors that can cause an avatar to be rendered as a solid-color impostor, discussed in How can I examine complexity values?

If there are specific avatars you want fully rendered even if they are over your limit, you can right click them and select Always Render Fully. This specific allowance is only valid for the duration of your Second Life session, so you will need to re-apply it each time you log in.

Your own avatar is always rendered fully, even if you are over your own maximum complexity threshold.

[Whirly Fizzle]

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BarbaraAnnKy5 wrote:

As an aside, Firestorm viewer stopped working entirely after Windows 10 update.  When I try and launch Firestore i get an error message that says something about video drivers.

 

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If only Firestorm (or Alchemy) fails to run since the Win 10 update but the LL viewer runs fine then It's most likely you have Intel HD/2000 or 3000 graphics which wont run on any viewer using the Windows 10 manifest.

You can get Firestorm to run if you install the 32bit version (64bit just won't run on Win 10 with those Intel cards) and  patch the 32bit install with the "intel fix" - http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_intel_fix_32bit

 

Also on the LL viewer, you can disable the jellybaby avatars totally by setting Maximum Complexity to "No limit" (far right on the slider) under Me -> Preferences -< Graphics -> Advanced.

[AyitaWild]

why do i see other avatar colors i seett my  complexity

[Rolig Loon]

Because their complexity is higher than your setting. Some people wear outfits that are incredibly complex --- much more than some graphics cards can handle.